Sectional lifting door or folding door

ABSTRACT

A segmented lifting or folding gate, which is vertically movable and has a plurality of segments, adjacent segments being pivotable relative to one another at their ends along horizontally extending pivot axes, comprising a door, which includes cases and a door leaf. The door leaf being formed of a plurality of door leaf segments, which are pivotable relative to one another and whose pivot axes extend coaxially to the pivot axes of the gate segments, and wherein the door leaf extends to the floor when the gate is closed, the door leaf or the case being provided with at least one opening, at least one sliding bolt being arranged axially in the floor region of the case or of the door leaf, so as to be horizontally displaceable in the main plane of the gate, and the sliding bolt engaging in the opening when the door is closed.

This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/DE01/00224, which has an Internationalfiling date of Jan. 18, 2001, and which designated the United State ofAmerica.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a segmented lifting or folding gate,which is vertically movable and has a plurality of segments. Adjacentsegments are pivotable relative to one another at their ends alonghorizontally extending pivot axes. The folding gate includes a door,which has cases and a door leaf. The door leaf is formed of a pluralityof door leaf segments, which are pivotable relative to one another andwhose pivot axes extend coaxially to the pivot axes of the gatesegments. The door leaf or the case is provided with at least oneopening, at least one sliding bolt being displaceable axially,horizontally in the main plane of the door, and the sliding boltengaging in the opening when the door is closed.

2. Description of the Background Art

Segmented lifting or folding gates have been known for a long time andare usually formed of lamellar, essentially rectangular plate-shapedsegments, two vertically adjacent segments extending along a common,horizontal pivot axis, which extends parallel to longitudinal sides ofthe segments, and are pivotable with respect to one another. As amaterial for the segments, inter alia, light metals such as aluminum areused. A distinction is here made between lifting gates, in which thesegments are pivoted essentially through 90° during lifting and whenopen the gate extends parallel to the ceiling; and folding gates, inwhich the adjacent segments are folded together in the manner of aconcertina during opening in order to be able to close large-areaopenings in buildings, for example garage gates or industrial gates,without using rigid gate wings which swing out to an extended amount.

To allow passage of the gates for an individual person, without the needto open the entire gate, it is known to integrate doors in these gates,the door leaf also being composed of a plurality of segments which arepivotable relative to one another, and the pivot axes of these door leafsegments extend coaxially to the above-described pivot axes. To increasethe stability of the construction, the door is installed in a door framehaving vertically and horizontally extending cases. It should bepossible to use these doors as escape doors, for example in the event ofa fire, if the gate cannot be opened in a conventional manner. Suchgates are disclosed in EP-A-0 936 339 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,723, whichhave cases or thresholds extending on the underside of the gate in theregion of the door, individual segments of the door being in connectionwith the gate via horizontally extending sliding bolts. DE-A-3835055finally is the only one to show a door integrated into the gate.

A disadvantage in the case of the gates known hitherto, with anintegrated door, can be seen in the fact that, on the underside of thedoors, a horizontally extending case or threshold is always arranged,which, particularly in emergencies, when rapid departure from thebuilding is necessary, represents a trip threshold, over which personscan fall and injure themselves, or the evacuation of the building isdelayed. This threshold has so far been regarded as indispensable, sinceon one hand it serves to provide the entire gate construction withsufficient stability when the gate is closed and on the other handprevents a torsion of the floor section perpendicular to the main planeof the gate when the gate is opened. With interlocking contact of thedoor leaf, this stable door frame surrounding the door opening alsoprevents the pivotable segments of the door leaf moving relative to thegate. This threshold is also the reason why such doors are not approvedas an escape route.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liftingor folding gate with a door such that the horizontally extending floorthreshold below the door leaf can be eliminated without affecting theconstructional stability of the gate, and a torsion of the gate segmentsor a relative movement of the door leaf with respect to the gate doesnot occur during opening.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the door leafextends to the floor when the gate is closed, and the sliding bolt isarranged in the floor region of the case.

The gist of the invention is in the fact that the door leaf is fixed, byat least one sliding bolt and at least one co-moving locking element,relative to the case and thereby relative to the gate. The sliding boltis displaceable axially, that is to say along its longitudinal axis,extending in a horizontal direction in the main plane of the gate. Itmay be arranged either in the door leaf or in the case surrounding thedoor. For fixing, an opening is provided in the case or in the doorleaf, which corresponds to the displaceable sliding bolt, that is to sayits depth and/or its diameter is matched to the dimensions of thesliding bolt. For locking the door leaf when closed, the sliding bolt,which is arranged in the floor region of the door leaf or of the case,is displaced axially, and thereby engaged in the opening, and a movementof the door leaf, or of the floor segment perpendicular to the mainplane of the door is prevented. To this end, the sliding bolt is, in anideal case, arranged on the side of the door leaf opposite the doorhinges, on which the door handle and lock are disposed.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the door leafextends to the floor when the gate is closed, the door leaf or the caseis provided with at least one opening, at least one sliding bolt isarranged axially in the floor region of the case or of the door leaf, soas to be horizontally displaceable in the main plane of the gate, andthe sliding bolt engages in the opening when the door is closed.

The invention further provides that the door leaf is fixed by at leastone sliding bolt and at least one co-moving locking element relative tothe case and thereby relative to the gate. The sliding bolt isdisplaceable axially, that is to say along its longitudinal axis,extending in a horizontal direction in the main plane of the gate. Itmay be arranged either in the door leaf or in the case surrounding thedoor. For fixing, an opening is provided in the case or in the doorleaf, which corresponds to the displaceable sliding bolt, that is to sayits depth and/or its diameter is matched to the dimensions of thesliding bolt. For locking the door leaf when closed, the sliding bolt,which is arranged in the floor region of the door leaf or of the case,is displaced axially, and thereby engaged in the opening, and a movementof the door leaf, or of the floor segment perpendicular to the mainplane of the door is prevented. To this end, the sliding bolt is in anideal case arranged on the side of the door leaf opposite the doorhinges, on which the door handle and lock are disposed.

An advantage of the invention is that, by virtue of the extension of thedoor leaf to the floor, that is to say the lack of a potential tripobstacle in the form of a door threshold, this door can be used as anescape route. In addition, on lifting of the gate, at least the floorsegment of the door leaf is fixed relative to the surrounding gatesection, and thereby a torsion of the gate, or a relative movement ofthe door leaf with respect to the gate is prevented.

An advantageous further embodiment of the invention is in the slidingbolt, during displacement into the opening, pressing or pushing alocking element (for example, a pawl) sidewards, the latter, with an endformed as a detent, catching behind the edge of a retaining plate, alsodescribed as an abutment, on the door or gate segment, and engaging. Bythe pivoting and subsequent engagement of the locking element, movementof the door leaf or at least of its floor segment in the main plane ofthe gate itself is prevented.

If the sliding bolt is arranged in the door leaf and the associatedopening in the case, then the locking element must also be located inthe case and engages behind the retaining plate, which is then mountedon the door leaf.

Advantageously the door leaf and the cases surrounding the door are eachequipped with a plurality of the above-described sliding bolts andlocking elements. The door leaf can thereby be fixed at multiple points,and in particular with a door leaf composed of a plurality of segments,the sliding bolts and locking elements can be arranged in the laterallower and/or upper edge regions of the door to avoid a relative movementof the individual door leaf segments.

It is proposed to dispose the axially displaceable sliding bolts in thecase and the thereto corresponding openings in the door leaf. In thisembodiment it is possible also to accommodate the below-described driveof the sliding bolts on or in the region of the cases, that is to say inthe gate.

Alternatively thereto, the sliding bolts can also be disposed in thedoor leaf and the openings in the case. The energy supply, for examplean electrical lead for an electrical bolt drive, can thereby be guidedin an appropriate manner, for example with flexible cables, from thegate into the door leaf.

For driving the sliding bolts, it is proposed that they are movableelectromagnetically, for example, via electrical servomotors or withmagnetic switches, hydraulically or pneumatically by, for example,hydraulic or pneumatic systems known to the person skilled in the art.Mechanical movement of the sliding bolt may take place, for example, inthe manner of a snap lock used in conventional doors, that is to say thesliding bolt is moved by spring force and engaged in the opening. Tothis end the tip of the sliding bolt may also be rounded in ahemispherical manner to permit engagement and disengagement out of theopening. Furthermore, it is known to the person skilled in the art toprovide any arbitrary mechanical device, which locks the sliding bolt inthe closed position as soon as the door lifted.

A further advantageous embodiment of the invention is that a verticalarrangement, on the underside of the door leaf, further bolts in themain plane of the gate, which are possibly displaceable and, when thegate is closed, can engage in the corresponding opening in the floor. Anadditional displacement, which may be desirable or required for securityconsiderations, of the bolts can also be implemented in theabove-described manner. In both embodiments, the bolts initially serveto stabilize the door when closed, that is to say that a movement of thegate and of the door perpendicular to its main plane is prevented. Sucha movement, for example under the influence of a strong wind pressure,would in the long term lead to damage of the gate. The additionaldisplaceability of the bolts by, for example, a drive, particularly inthe region of the door serves as additional securing againstunauthorized use.

Advantageously the length of the bolts is three to eight times that ofthe bolt diameter. With a suitable choice of material, in particularmetal or stainless steel, bolts with such dimensions can receive amaximum flexural moment perpendicular to their longitudinal axis withoutdeforming under its effect.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, by at least two of thevertically arranged bolts, the axially displaceable sliding rods, themovement of the sliding bolts can be driven. To this end the upperregion of the two sliding rods can be formed as a toothed rack, which onits vertically upward movement, is deflected via gear wheels and a steelstrip, and draws the sliding bolt out of the associated opening.

Here the sliding bolt is advantageously moved against a compressionspring, which is tensioned by the movement.

Overall, on closing of the gate the sliding bolt is moved back and thedoor is released. During the opening of the gate, the sliding bolts,driven by the relaxation of the compression springs, spring back intothe openings and lock the door.

Simultaneously with this operation the door segments are secured by thelocking elements, which engage behind the retaining plates as describedabove.

Overall, by these jointly acting devices, the door is locked when thegate is opened and released for use after it is closed.

To increase the reliability of use of the gate, it is proposed that, atthe lower edge of the gate, an electromagnetic safety strip, which isknown per se, is arranged, with which a strip-shaped transmitter can bemoved in a vertical direction against a spring force.

If, on closing of the gate, an object or a person is located below thegate, the contact strip is moved relatively to the gate by theresistance of the object, and an electrical contact is made, which isconnected to an automatic cut-off for the gate drive. Advantageously,the safety strip is of three-part design, that is to say that a strip ismounted to the left and right of the gate and on the door at the bottomedge in each case. Here, the person skilled in the art canadvantageously connect the strips to one another in a suitable manner,such that, on tripping even of only one strip, the automatic cut-offresponds and the gate drive cuts off. Safety is thus ensured in theevent of obstruction under all three gate parts.

A further advantage is provided by a device with which that part of thesafety contact strip mounted on the lowermost door leaf segment can bevertically pivoted or lifted, because the door can only be opened easilyif the contact strip is not lying on the floor.

To lift the contact strip from the floor, a drive can be installed,which is activated when the door is opened, for example even when thedoor latch is operated.

To allow use of the door also as an escape route, it is equipped with apanic lock known to the person skilled in the art. This permits theopening of even a locked door from the inside, for example by simplypushing down the door latch. By this means, the rapid evacuation ofpersons from a building is permitted, even when they do hot have asuitable key for the door.

With a drive of the vertically extending bolts provided on the loweredge of the door, it is recommended to actively connect it to the doorhandle or the door lock. That means that, on operation of the doorhandle or door lock, for example to open the door, the bolts aredisplaced synchronously. To open the door, they must be drawn upwardsout of the openings in the floor and inserted during closing.

The drive of the bolts may also take place here as described above, and,for example on opening of the doors, an electrical contact may be made,which sets an electrical or magnetic bolt drive into movement. Inparticular, an active mechanical connection between the bolt and doorhandle is proposed, which has a rack, the latter being equipped at thelevel of the door lock with a toothed rack, which engages directly witha toothed quadrant, which is pivoted via the door latch about ahorizontal axis. The rack and the sliding bar connected to the boltshould be pivoted relative to one another at the level of the horizontalpivot axis, at which the individual adjacent segments can be pivotedrelative to one another, and should also have a coaxial joint to permitthe buckling or folding operation on opening of the gate.

To prevent a movement of the door leaf in a horizontal direction in themain plane of the gate, the door leaf and/or the vertical cases areequipped with hook-like devices, which, when the door is closed, catchbehind correspondingly formed projections on the cases or door leaf. Inparticular, these hooks are disposed in the region of the bolts toprevent pulling open of the gap between the door leaf and case, forexample during opening.

A further advantageous embodiment of the invention is to provide apressure roller, which is mounted on both narrow sides of the gate inthe lower region and on closing of the gate runs on a centering orlocking curve, which is mounted in the lower region of the gate case.The gate and the door are thereby brought together in the lower region,their position is fixed and the bolts are centered over the openings.

It is therefore achieved that the sliding bolts are introduced withaccurate fit into the opening, the locking element being pivoted suchthat it engages behind the retaining plate and at the same time makesthe electrically conducting contact between the individual parts of thesafety contact strip.

In order that the goal of a precise centering is achieved, which ensuresperfect functioning of the locking mechanism, the height of thecentering or locking curve is advantageously designed so as to bevariably settable, so that it can be adjusted at any time.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawingswhich are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitiveof the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a segmented lifting gate with door in elevation;

FIG. 2 shows the gate in a semi-lifted state in cross-section;

FIG. 3 shows the floor door segment in horizontal cross-section;

FIG. 4 shows a vertical cross-section through the door;

FIG. 5 shows another side elevational view of a segmented lifting gatewith door;

FIG. 6 shows a horizontal cross-section through the gate in the regionbetween the door latch and the door top edge;

FIG. 7 shows a detail from FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows a detail in the region of the door case of the horizontalcross-section through the door; and

FIG. 9 shows a detail in the lower region of the door from the verticalcross-section through the door.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 of the invention is a segmentedlifting door, which has a plurality of essentially rectangular segments(1), which are pivotable relative to one another parallel to theirlongitudinal sides on horizontally extending pivot axes (2). To permitpassage of a gate for persons, without the gate itself needing to beopened, a door is inserted, whose door leaf in turn includes individualdoor leaf segments (4). Horizontal pivot axes (5) between adjacent doorsegments (4) are arranged coaxial to the horizontally extending pivotaxes (2) of the gate. At the lower edge of the gate and the door, athree-part electrical safety contact strip (3) is mounted, which iscoupled to an automatic cut-out for the gate drive.

FIG. 2 shows the lifting gate in a semi-lifted state. Here, in the anglebetween the wall and ceiling, a pivoting of the individual segments (1)through essentially 90° takes place such that the gate extends parallelto the ceiling when it is completely opened.

FIG. 3 shows the two lowermost door leaf segments (4) of a door,according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, of a lifting gatewhen closed. The lowermost segment (4) is essentially interlocked withits lower edge on the floor (6). For sealing, an additional rubber lipcan be attached to the lowermost segment. A bolt (7), which is arrangedin the main plane of the gate and is axially displaceable possibly in avertical direction, engages into a corresponding opening (8) in thefloor (6) below the gate, as indicated by the arrow. Movement of thegate or of the door perpendicular to the plane of the gate, for exampleunder the effect of wind pressure, is prevented. Between the twosegments (4), a pivot axis (5), which can be of any on which the twosegments (4) can be pivoted relative to one another. Furthermore, asliding bolt (9) is shown, which can be caused to engage in a case (10),wherein it can be displaced axially, substantially parallel to thefloor. To simplify the diagram, a drive device for the bolts (7, 9) hasnot been illustrated. The drive device for the bolts can be, forexample, electromagnetic, pneumatic or mechanical, and can also beconnected to suitable control electronics.

FIG. 4 shows the segment (1) of a gate comprising a segment (4) of thedoor leaf shown in vertical cross-section. In the door leaf, the slidingbolt (9) is arranged laterally on the left and right, and can bedisplaced axially in the horizontal direction in the main plane of thegate, as is indicated by the arrow. The sliding bolt 9 may be broughtinto engagement with a corresponding opening (11) in the case (10),which is arranged so as to surround the door openings on three sides. Toactuate the sliding bolt (9), a freely optional actuator (12) is used.

FIG. 5 shows a vertical section through the gate at the height of therollers. In the lower region of the gate, two sliding rods (13), whichare designed as a toothed rack, and whose movement is deflected by gearwheels (14) (pinions) and a steel strip (15) to the sliding bolt (9).During closing of the door, the steel strip (15) is unrolled. It therebypulls the sliding bolts (9) out of the openings and tensions compressionsprings (16), whose spring force, on relaxation of the springs, duringopening of the gate, pushes the sliding bolts (9) back into the openings(11).

At the narrow side of the gate, the pressure rollers (17) are mounted,which, during closing of the gate run along a centering or locking curve(18) to center the gate. During opening of the gate, they run in theupper region of the gate case on rails (19) or freely.

FIG. 6 shows a horizontal section through the gate with a partly opendoor. Retaining plates (20) or abutments arranged on the door case canbe clearly recognized, behind which locking elements (21) (e.g. pawls)are arranged on the door and engage in order to fix the door in the case(10).

FIG. 7 shows a detail of FIG. 6, in which the arrangement of rollers(22) and the pressure roll (17) is shown.

FIG. 8 shows a section through the door and the door case at the levelof the sliding bolts (9). Holding strips (20) and the locking element(21) are recognizable, which projects into the movement cross-section ofthe sliding bolt (9) and during displacement of the sliding bolt (9) ispivoted by the latter such that the end designed in the form of a detentengages behind the edge of the retaining plates (20) on the individualgate segment or door segment.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-section through the lower region of the door. Thesafety contact strip (3) and the locking element (21) projecting intothe movement cross-section of the shear bolt (9) and the retaining plate(20) can be clearly seen.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to beincluded within the scope of the following claims.

1. A segmented gate, which is vertically movable, comprising: aplurality of segments, adjacent segments being pivotable relative to oneanother at their ends along horizontally extending pivot axes; and adoor opening and a door being formed in a portion of the plurality ofsegments, a case composed of segments and surrounding the door openingon three sides excluding the bottom side of the door, the door includinga door leaf, the door leaf being composed of a plurality of door leafsegments, which are pivotable relative to one another and whose pivotaxes extend coaxially to the pivot axes of the plurality of segments,the door leaf or the case including: at least one opening; and at leastone sliding bolt being displaceable parallel to a floor, the floorserving as an end-stop of the segmented gate, the sliding bolt engagingin the opening when the door is closed, at least one compression springcoupled to the at least one sliding bolt; and a spring relaxationmechanism to relax the at least one compression spring; wherein onclosing of the segmented gate, the at least one sliding bolt is movedback and the door is released to permit the door to be opened and,wherein on opening of the gate, the relaxation mechanism relaxes thecompression springs to cause the at least one sliding bolt to engagewith the openings and lock the door.
 2. The segmented gate according toclaim 1, wherein the sliding bolt, during displacement into the opening,presses or pushes a locking element sidewards, the locking elementhaving an end formed as a detent, which catches and is behind an edge ofa retaining plate on the door or gate segment.
 3. The segmented gateaccording to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sliding boltsfor fixing the door leaf relative to the case in the lower and upperlateral edge regions of the door leaf, and a plurality of lockingelements mounted on the door leaf.
 4. The segmented gate according toclaim 1, further comprising retaining plates and wherein the slidingbolt and retaining plates are arranged in the case and the opening andlocking elements are arranged in the door leaf.
 5. The segmented gateaccording to claim 1, further comprising retaining plates and whereinthe sliding bolt and retaining plates are arranged in the door leaf andthe opening and locking elements are arranged in the case.
 6. Thesegmented gate according to claim 1, wherein the sliding bolt iselectromagnetically or hydraulically or pneumatically or mechanicallymoveable.
 7. The segmented gate according to claim 1, wherein, in alower edge region of the door leaf, one or more locking bolts arearranged vertically in the main plane of the segmented gate and areprovided such that, when the door and the segmented gate are closed, theone or more locking bolts engage or engages in one or more openings inthe floor.
 8. The segmented gate according to claim 7, wherein thelength of the sliding bolt or the locking bolts corresponds to three toeight times their diameter.
 9. The segmented gate according to claim 7,wherein a plurality of vertically arranged locking bolts are provided,and wherein at least two of the vertically arranged locking bolts areaxially movable.
 10. The segmented gate according to claim 9, whereinthe locking bolts are vertically displaceable rods and drive themovement of the sliding bolt.
 11. The segmented gate according to claim10, wherein the rods are designed as a toothed rack in the upper region,the movement of which draws, via gear wheels and a steel strip, thesliding bolts out of the associated openings.
 12. The segmented gateaccording to claim 11, wherein the sliding bolt is drawn out of theopening against a compression spring, which is tensioned by themovement.
 13. The segmented gate according to claim 1, wherein, on thebottom edge of the gate, an electrical safety contact strip is provided.14. The segmented gate according to claim 13, wherein an automatic cutoff for a gate drive is designed electrically such that it responds evenin the event of resistance against a single part of the electricalsafety contact strip and shuts off the gate drive.
 15. The segmentedgate according to claim 13, wherein a portion of the safety contactstrip, which is mounted on the lowermost door leaf segment, can bepivoted or lifted vertically.
 16. The segmented gate according to claim15, wherein the vertically pivotable or liftable part of the safetycontact strip is moved by a correspondingly designed drive duringopening of the door.
 17. The segmented gate according to claim 14,wherein the gate drive is controlled by means of an active connectionwith the door latch during opening.
 18. The segmented gate according toclaim 1, wherein a panic lock is mounted on the door.
 19. The segmentedgate according to claim 9, wherein the locking bolts are displaceableand are in active connection with a door handle and/or a door lock. 20.The segmented gate according to claim 17, wherein the active connectionis electromagnetic or hydraulic or pneumatic or mechanical, inparticular, with a mechanical active connection via a rack, themechanical active connection being pivotable at a level of thehorizontal pivot axes.
 21. The segmented gate according to claim 1,wherein the door leaf and/or the cases are provided with projectionsformed as hook-shaped hook devices, the projections engaging on thecases that are vertical and/or laterally on the door leaves.
 22. Thesegmented gate according to claim 1, wherein, on narrow sides in a lowerregion of the gate, there is mounted a pressure roller, which, as thedoor is being closed, runs on a centering or locking curve, which ismounted on the lower region of a gate case.
 23. The segmented gateaccording to claim 22, wherein the pressure rollers run on runners inthe remaining region of the gate case or freely.
 24. The segmented gateaccording to claim 22, wherein a running level of a centering or lockingcurve is variably adjustable.
 25. The segmented gate according to claim13, wherein the electrical safety contact strip is in three parts.
 26. Agate assembly comprising: a plurality of segments being hingedlyattached to one another along segment pivot axes for enabling entranceto an opening of a structure in an open position and for substantiallycovering the opening of the structure in a closed position, a lowersegment of the plurality of segments being adapted to be substantiallyadjacent to a floor of the structure in the closed position; a dooropening and a door being formed in a portion of the plurality ofsegments, a case composed of segments and surrounding the door openingon three sides excluding the bottom side of the door, for enablingentrance to the opening when the plurality of segments is in the closedposition, the door having a plurality of door segments that are hingedlyattached to one another along door segment pivot axes, the door segmentpivot axes being parallel to the segment pivot axes, a lower doorsegment of the plurality of door segments being adapted to besubstantially adjacent to the floor when the plurality of segments arein the closed position so that a lower edge of the lower door segment ofthe plurality of door segments is aligned with a lower edge of the lowersegment of the plurality of segments, thereby forming a uniform plane;and the door including: at least one sliding bolt being displaceableparallel to a floor, the floor serving as an end-stop of the segmentedgate, the sliding bolt engaging in the opening when the door is closed,at least one compression spring coupled to the at least one slidingbolt; and a spring relaxation mechanism to relax the at least onecompression spring; wherein, on closing of the segmented gate, the atleast one sliding bolt is moved back and the door is released to permitthe door to be opened and, wherein on opening of the gate, therelaxation mechanism relaxes the compression springs to cause the atleast one sliding bolt to engage with the openings and lock the door.27. The gate assembly according to claim 26, further comprising alocking assembly for automatically locking the door to the plurality ofsegments when the gate assembly transitions from the closed position tothe open position and for automatically unlocking the door from theplurality of segments to enable access to the structure through the doorwhen the gate is in the closed position.
 28. A gate assembly comprising:a plurality of segments, adjacent segments being pivotable relative toone another at their ends along horizontally extending pivot axes; adoor comprising a plurality of door leaf segments, which are pivotablerelative to one another and whose pivot axes extend coaxially to thepivot axes of the segments; at least one sliding bolt; an opening in thegate for receiving the sliding bolt; at least one compression spring; acompression spring relaxation mechanism; wherein, on closing of thesegmented gate, the at least one sliding bolt is moved back from theopening and the door is released to permit the door to be opened and,wherein on opening of the gate, the relaxation mechanism relaxes thecompression springs to cause the at least one sliding bolt to engagewith the openings and lock the door.